Regretsy - where DIY meets WTF

I love Etsy. It is a handmade shopping paradise for me and I´ve found all sorts of cool stuff and crafters through it. .. And then there's the other stuff. Some of my friends have commented to me that they just can't find anything remotely intresting there cause there's just so much.. ehm, not so well thought or designed goods, for sale. The good stuff gets lost in the sheer mass. If you´ve been surfing Etsy for a while, You´ll know what they mean. I have a few tips on how to filter out all the oddities so I can find the good ones faster, but still it´s not all good. This is where a blog called Regretsy comes in. Regretsy seeks out projects in Etsy, that are, in their opinion, "a veritable sideshow of handcrafts gone horribly wrong". I do have to admit that I agree with the author April Winchell in many of her posts and I love her sarcastic way to write about them. Let's be honest, it´s DIY so it really is ONLY a matter of personal opinion weather you like the design style of some ofther crafter or not. It´s often that I find stuff there that I would not buy or wear in a million years and yet these people have hundreds of sales! In a way that just proves it that all comes down to personal preference. There is no right or wrong when it comes to matters of taste. Art = personal taste.

April has also published a book called Regretsy - Where DIY meets WTF. Buy it. All proceeds will go to charity and it is a good read. And I wish people would stop sending April hate mail and threats.. I have a personal message to these people. "Get a life, and use all that energy for something really important, like promoting world peace, a healthy ecological lifestyle or human rights.. stuff that actually means something. Sending anonymous threats for commenting DIY is just sad." Artists need to be able to laugh at and critisize also their own works in order to become better at their craft. Most people just choose not to say their opinions out loud if they do not like it. But that does not mean that we all should be quiet. Constructive critisism comes in many packages. The first time I read negative and offensive comments on my designs online, at first I felt horrible. Then I realized, it is impossible to please everyone. I don´t even want to anymore. I only wish that if people have something negative to say, they´d be really funny in their comments (I adore witty sarcasm) or supply an constructive alternative.

I have written some helpful tips in my blog series called Design Rules which I hope will help you, my dear readers, to improve your DIY designwise, especially if you want to make it your day job. If you make stuff for yourself, it can be and look like anything as long as You love it. But if you intend to sell it or use it commercially, a whole set of different design rules apply. I do feel that I have a eye for good DIY/recycle design. I hope my blog proves to you daily and that it gives you loads of inspiration.

And just a last note, before some of you get all wound up and explode in the comment box (remember.. comment moderation is still on..), Regretsy has made some of the crafters they've posted about a bundle of money and sales. Even bad press is good press.